BLAKE JARRETT

Hamilton Olympic FC 2 def. Broadmeadow Magic FC 0
Sun 14 June 2:30 PM
Darling Street Oval
Match of the Round

Darling Street Oval was the setting of the Northern NSW PlayStation® 4 National Premier Leagues Match of the Round, as Hamilton Olympic welcomed rivals Broadmeadow Magic.

The sides had met already this season, playing out a stalemate and being forced to share the points in Round 1 at Magic Park.

Broadmeadow welcomed back Kale Bradbury, who started at the point of attack, and Chris Berlin, who was on the bench, but were without Peter Haynes who is still suffering from an injury sustained two weeks ago against Weston.

It was the home side who took the lead, in the eleventh minute. Simon Mooney fired in his seventh goal of the season from a 30-metre free kick that travelled through a pack of bodies untouched and into the bottom right hand corner.

Two minutes later Kyle Hodges produced an effort that could be argued was as important as a goal. The centre back showed why he is the side’s captain chasing down Kale Bradbury, sliding in and winning a brilliant challenge before Bradbury could release an unmarked Dino Fajkovic.

15 minutes into the derby and the atmosphere in the crowd was intense, a mood that matched the game being played on the field.

The remaining half an hour was quite disappointing as neither side really threatened their opposition’s goal. Simon Mooney’s 24 minute free kick that narrowly evaded the crossbar, and Scott Pettit’s 44th minute free kick saved by a diving Danny Ireland were the pick of the chances.

The second half began with a bang, as attacking midfielder Rhys Cooper was forced to do some defensive work, clearing a Ben Higgins corner off the line in the 52nd minute following an accurate Pettit corner from the right hand side.

Nine minutes later Hamilton doubled their advantage as Matt Swan added the second goal of the game.

Mooney went agonisingly close again from a free kick with 20 minutes remaining, however his shot could not dip under the cross bar, crashing onto the roof of the net.

The Hamilton defence were too strong, as they have been all year, and although Magic dominated field position in the second half of the second half, Hamilton would not concede, as the match finished 2-0 to the home team.

Broadmeadow coach Rob Virgili was pleased with the effort from his side but was disappointed with the result, suggesting the Magic needed a win to stay in the hunt.

‘We got into some really good areas today, but our execution wasn’t there, and that was the difference,’ he said.

That win keeps Hamilton out in the lead at the top of the table by three points. The competition breaks next weekend for the Westfield FFA Cup weekend, but when it returns Hamilton will be involved in one of the matches of the season when they host Adamstown Rosebud.

Broadmeadow will feature in the Westfield FFA Cup Qualifiers so will not get a rest. In Round 11 they take on Edgeworth at home.

 

Newcastle Jets Youth 2 def. by Lambton Jaffas FC 3
Sat 13 June 2:30 PM
Arthur Edden Oval

There were two matches played on Saturday afternoon, the first being the Lambton Jaffas at home to the Newcastle Jets Youth.

The Jets opened the scoring in the tenth minute through Braedyn Crowley who was making his return after injury.

Neither side could add to the score sheet, so the Jets Youth went into the break leading 1-0.

The Jaffas were dealt a huge blow at half time as Kevin Davidson was forced from the field with a groin injury, so youngsters Grant Brown and Michael Williams were challenged to step up and anchor the centre of defence.

Jamie Byrnes leveled the scores ten minutes into the second half, calmly tucking away a one on one chance after being released by an Alex Palozzi through ball.

The home side went ahead in the 68th minute as John Majurovski produced a trademark chest and turn after receiving a Luke Remington cross, then drove a volley into the back of the net.

Less than five minutes later the Jaffas doubled their advantage, as Palozzi cut in from a wide position, beat two defenders and easily slotted the ball into the back of the net, making the score 3-1.

A late goal to Reece Papas put the Jets Youth back into the game, however they could not find a third, with the Jaffas winning the match 3-2.

Just like in their first match the Jets Youth scored first and last, however three Jaffas goals in between saw the side from Edden Oval get the three points.

Jaffas coach David Tanchevski was pleased with the win, suggesting his side were dominant.

‘The match was pretty even for the first half of the first half, but then we started playing better football,’ he said.

‘We were totally dominant in the second half. We stepped it up and got the goals to show for it’.

‘We had no Jobe (Wheelhouse) or Sesho (Michael Sesssions) which we found out about the night before, so it was good to win without them both considering they make up the spine of our team’.

Tanchevski went on to welcome the weekend break for the Westfield FFA Cup, suggesting that it will give his side some time to refresh and get players back on deck as they push towards the finals.

They now sit in fourth place following the win, on 18 points. In Round 11 they take on ninth placed Charlestown City Blues.

The Jets Youth are now seventh on just ten points. In Round 11 they will travel to Cook Square Park to challenge Maitland FC who are just one position below them on the ladder.

 

Weston Workers FC 1 def. by Adamstown Rosebud FC 2
Sat 13 June 2:30 PM
Rockwell Automation Park

The second match on Saturday afternoon was a match between two of the form sides of the competition in Weston and Adamstown at Rockwell Automation Park.

The last time these two sides met they contested a 0-0 draw in Round 1, and both sides were eager to score a victory in this match.

The home side opened the scoring early in the first half as Robbie Turnbull took advantage of a defensive mistake, tapping into a virtually open net.

Troy Hearfield was forced from the field midway through the first half, which was a blow for Weston, and they found themselves back level not long after as Adamstown’s Nick Bale scored before the break, making it 1-1 at half time.

Both sides pushed for the third goal of the match in the second half, but half an hour in, the score was still 1-1.

It was Garry Kenneth who scored the winner in the 80th minute to pick up the three points for the Buds, with his fourth goal in five weeks, quite an impressive achievement for a centre back.

The Rosebud held on strong for the final ten minutes, winning the match 2-1, their fourth win in five matches.

Bears coach Trevor Morris was disappointed with his team’s performance, although their defence once again played well as a unit.

‘We didn’t play very well at all and Adamstown certainly deserved the win,’ he said.

‘Our ball movement and retention wasn’t the best. On transition the ball was getting turned over a lot by us and coming straight back at us’.

The loss sees Weston drop from second to third after Edgeworth defeated Charlestown 2-1 yesterday. In Round 11 they are at home again where they play South Cardiff.

Adamstown continued their mid-season resurgence and are now just three points outside the top four in sixth place. They are the third PS4 NPL side that will feature in next weekend’s Westfield FFA Cup Qualifiers, then when the PS4 NPL returns they are away to Hamilton in a blockbuster matchup.

 

Maitland FC 4 def. South Cardiff FC 0
Sun 14 June 2:30 PM
Cook Square Park

In one of the most crucial matches of Round 10 South Cardiff travelled to Cook Square Park to challenge the Maitland Magpies in a must win match for both sides.

Maitland were last going into the match, and the Gunners ninth, so a win would take Maitland off the bottom, or South Cardiff four points clear.

The last time these two sides clashed was in Round 1. Maitland went into the break ahead 2-0 in that match, only for the Gunners to make a second half comeback and draw 2-2.

Both sides were missing a host of players. The Gunners were without Dean Kelley, Mitch Wallace and Matt Darr, and Maitland were without Zac Hill, Justin Broadley, Joel Wood and Dennis Fajkovic.

The Gunners went close in the first half as Ash Balcomb struck the cross bar with a good strike, and Sungdeok squandered three clear scoring chances.

Neither side could find the net by half time as the sides went into the break drawn at 0-0.

At half time after, what coach Reece Thompson described as one of their worst of the year so far, he decided to introduce Ryan Broadley into the match. This allowed Matt Thompson to move higher up the park, which turned out to be the game changing move for the home side.

Thompson opened the scoring for the Magpies in the 68th minute. He then assisted both of Matt Cumerford’s goals in the 70th and 75th minutes as the pair shot the home side into a 3-0 lead.

A late goal in the 92nd minute to substitute Connor Heydon capped off the win, as Maitland finished the match ahead 4-0.

Magpies coach Reece Thompson was pleased with his side after their second win of the season, suggesting he has always had confidence them.

‘We were missing a heaps of players today and we were very flat in the first half,’ he went on to say.

‘Southy had a couple of chances in the first half which they could have converted, but we rode our luck and found ourselves at 0-0 at half time’.

‘I introduced Ryan Broadley at half time which allowed Matt Thompson to play further forward and it worked a treat; he had more space and was able to create opportunities’.

Maitland are now in eighth spot after the win, moving off the bottom of the ladder, bypassing ninth by moving past the Gunners and Charlestown.

Thompson welcomed the Westfield FFA Cup weekend break, suggesting the side should almost if not definitely be at full strength in Round 11 where they take on the Newcastle Jets Youth, who they trail by just three points. A two goal win in that match will take them to seventh.

South Cardiff finished the round in last position. It does not get any easier for them when the PS4 NPL returns in Round 11, as they take on Weston, away from home.

 

Charlestown City Blues FC 1 def. by Edgeworth FC 2
Sun 14 June 2:30 PM
Lisle Carr Oval

The final match of Round 10 of the PS4 NPL saw Charlestown City Blues host the Edgeworth Eagles.

The Blues were determined to make up for a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Edgeworth in Round 1, and were hoping that their win against Broadmeadow in Round 9 could give them some form and confidence.

Weston’s loss to Adamstown the day before meant that a win would guarantee the Eagles second place at least at the completion of Round 10

Both sides created a number of chances in the first half, however both goal keepers and defence were standing strong as they went into the break locked at 0-0.

Charlestown opened the scoring in the second half, as Jarrod Ross produced a screamer of a free kick into the right hand side of the Eagles goal to put the home side ahead.

Unlike last week against Magic they could not hold onto a 1-0 lead against a top four side.

A Bren Hammel corner was turned in by Blues’ defender Damien Cox for an own goal to level the scores up at one apiece getting the Eagles back into the contest.

Matt Tull then gave away his second penalty in as many weeks after he brought down Keanu Moore just inside the box on the right hand side. Justin Tannock stepped up to the spot and sent Paul Bitz diving the wrong way, slotting his penalty into the bottom right hand corner.

Late into the game Aaron McLoughlin had the perfect chance to seal the game, however his one on one strike was saved by Blitz.

It did not matter for the Eagles however, as they held on for their seventh win of the season, with the score line remaining 2-1 at the final whistle.

The loss sees Charlestown drop to ninth following Maitland’s huge 4-0 win over South Cardiff. After the Westfield FFA Cup break they are at home again, this time to the fourth placed Lambton Jaffas.

Edgeworth overtake Weston to go back into second place, keeping their three point gap between themselves and leaders Hamilton in tact. They will feature next weekend in the Westfield FFA Cup Qualifiers, then in Round 11 they are away to Broadmeadow Magic, who will be looking for a positive reply after three losses in a row.